Chapter Twenty -Eight

Leilani POV

Leilani was running on coffee, she had been since morning when, she woke up to find that one of the twins was sick, which meant that the other one was not far behind.

Taking them to school was out of the questions, they would just bother the teachers and she really needed to get to work.

She ran her hands through her hair when Allison started crying

" Baby please stop crying, mommy need to think" she muttered replacing the wash cloth over her forehead, she sniffled, her sounds muffled, and then Adrian picked up.

Her phone rang and she stretched out reaching to pick it up

" Hello" she cried out breathlessly

" Why do you sound like you're about to faint" Ella asked and she sagged against the bed,

"I need help" she begged

" Why, what happened"

" The twins are sick and I need to go to the office, I can't take them to school and I hm don't want to talk to mom "

" You do know that's not possible right ' she muttered and Leilani sighed. Of course she knew, she just didn't want to accept it right now.

" Bring them to my place"

" What about the kids "

" Gone to school " she muttered and Leilani let out a large breath

" Thank you so much, I'll owe you one " she promised and her sister cackled,

" Of course you do "

She tossed the phone to the bed and packed a bag, it was Friday so she could pick them up and stay with them the whole weekend.

Maybe moving back to London had been the best move for her.

At least here she had family

The phone rang twice before she answered, her voice calm but distant.

She was rounding up from work, when her phone buzzed, she tapped the keyboard two more time and lifted the phone to make sure it wasn't Ella.

It wasn't. It was Gustin of all people, she didn't pick immediately debating if not answering at all was a petty move but the she decided against it.

“Gustin.” she replied

" I'm surprised you called, wasn't sure you had a telephone"

“Leilani, I just found out you’re working for Sebastian Wolfe,” he said, his voice sharper than she had heard in a while, which made her pause.

What gave him the right to be angry with her

“I don’t see why that’s any of your concern.”

“It is when it involves our children,” he snapped.

“You think it’s wise to work for someone who’s been trying to destroy everything I’ve built?”

Leilani sighed, he had actually lost it. But how the hell did he know about it r.

“This isn’t about you, Gustin. I took the job because it’s a good opportunity for me. I need to provide for the kids, and Sebastian offered a position that suits my skills.”

“You could have found something else,” Gustin argued, his tone increasing and getting even more annoying

“Anywhere else, with me even ”

" Did it occur to you that I knew that and chose him anyway " she replied and he quieted

" Are you fucking him" he hissed

" What " she stuttered anger building up fast

" You heard me " he muttered and she sighed

" That's the problem ,I was hoping I didn't hear you say that." She gritted

" Look" she muttered

“I don’t owe you an explanation for my career choices,” she said, her voice growing colder.

“My only priority is making sure our kids are taken care of. What I do for work is my decision, not yours.”

He gripped the edge of his desk, trying to rein in his frustration.

“I’m not going to let you work for him.”

There was silence on the both ends spoke volumes about how she felt about that, chuckled.

“Let me? You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do anymore, Gustin. That ship sailed a long time ago.”

" Come to my office" he muttered

" No"' she hissed

“I’m serious, Leilani,” he warned.

“Either you come to my office and we discuss this like adults, or I’ll come to yours. And I guarantee you won’t want that.”

The ultimatum floored her, she didn’t respond right away, because she literally couldn't.

The gall of the man to think he had a say in her life, when he was calling two weeks after their last meeting. She took slow measured breaths and once she was certain she was calm enough , she spoke. “

Fine. I’ll come to your office. But this isn’t going to change anything.”

“We’ll see about that.” he muttered and then he hung up,on her.

She scoffed throwing the phone down onto the desk, her jaw tight with fury.

If she killed him, it wasn't her fault,

" Are you ok" Charlotte asked and she nodded

" I'm fine " and she had been until that idiots call.

She was enjoying her job her and she was happy.

In fact she had been hoping the media wouldn't catch wind of it, but that had been very meaningless hope.

She wasn’t sure what game Wolfe was playing, but she was determined to stop it before it spiraled out of control. She had too much at stake to be dragged around by his schemes

But behind his anger, something else simmered—an uncomfortable truth. This wasn’t just about Wolfe. It was about control, about the realization that Leilani had truly moved on from him. She was building a life separate from his, and he hated how powerless that made him feel.

She stood from her desk and walked over to Sebastian's office, knocked on the door barging in once he responded.

" Was it you" she asked. He looked up from his desk pulling off the glasses, she had come to know he used to read.

He threatened the whole floor regularly not to ever mention it

" You'll have to be more direct "

" The picture in the tabloid was it you"